Lee Mount - 25th August

It's been fairly quiet the last few days - much better this morning with these below the 'pick of the bunch'. A sense of autumn coming on !

Centre-barred Sallow

 

Least Yellow Underwing

Mother of Pearl

Ypsolopha parenthesella

Around and about.

Holly Blue still around the garden this afternoon but not a lot else.

Cold Edge and Hunter Hill produced 6 Wall Browns between them. Also at Cold Edge a few Red Admirals, Small Coppers, Small Tortoiseshell and Peacocks with just one Small Skipper on a creeping thistle head. 

Stainland.

Life is running away with me just now. (For a change.) As David forecast, I have more catching up of moth reports to do. I'm going to put the first four dates in this post.

8 Aug 2022

2 x Marbled Beauty
1 x Dark Arches
1 x Blastobasis adustella
1 x Blastobasis lacticolella
1 x Epagoge grotiana
1 x Brown House Moth
1 x Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
1 x Lozotaenia forsterana

This is only the second Dark Arches I've ever seen. Lovely markings.

Dark Arches

Updated ID below, thanks to Charlie.

Light Brown Apple, female

Yet another common moth which I've only seen once before.

Lozotaenia forsterana

 9 Aug 2022 

 2 x Marbled Beauty 

1 x Small Phoenix 

1 x Lesser Broad-bordered Underwing 

1 x Udea prunalis

10 Aug. 2022

6 x Blastobasis lacticolella 

1 x Blastobasis adustella 

1 x Marbled Beauty 

1 x Brown House Moth 

1 x Common Footman 

1 x Riband Wave


11 Aug 2022 

2 x Riband Wave 

2 x Blastobasis adustella 

2 x Blastobasis lacticolella 

2 x Brown House Moths (mating)

1 x Eudonia (ID) |

1 x Plain mid size ID

More to follow. However, we are off to Whitby Folk festival on Saturday. I'm not sure how much free time I'll have before we go. It's three years since I gave a public performance. I'm looking forward to it, I've packed all my instruments. I'll be doing plenty of gigs in the coming week. It's very tiring when you do three in a day, but rewarding and lots of fun.

Lee Mount - 18th August

 Just a suspicion of a Vine's Rustic (13mm) this morning in the trap. Also sent to CF for his thoughts. These are the best I could get before it escaped. Quite a grey moth though the photos show more brown.

CF confirmed - Vine's Rustic

Also below, another good one for here as I only ever had one previously. A really nice moth.

Purple Bar

Lee Mount - 15th August

 A new one for this site this morning. 

The only ones I've seen previously were 3  in Hardcastle Crags on 19th Aug 2017 with AC BL CD along with NP the then NT Warden at the site.

Barred Hook-tip

Not a lot else - Square-spot Rustic x 4, Marbled Beauty x 2, Large Yellow Underwing x 15, Agriphila tristella x 8  and one each - Common Carpet, Dark Arches, Small Phoenix, Flounced Rustic.

Beacon Hill

Male Wall. Thomas and Lewington say that males typically live for just 3 days; and their description of the butterfly's courtship is quite something!

Lee Mount - 14th August

This micro was a real challenge trying to get any sort of decent photo of such a small moth - barely 4mm. 

Pretty sure it's Bucculatrix (maybe ulmella or thoracella)) though I think gen det is required to confirm identification either way. It's gone now though how anyone manages to gen det such a small moth I have no idea (Charlie will know)!

Lee Mount - 13th August

 Two new moths for me this morning.

Lime-speck Pug

Barred Rivulet - quite a small moth at just over 10mm wing length

Clay triple Lines

 Another new species for me in the garden this week came in the form of this little beauty........Plenty  Holly Blues , Comma , Purple Hairstreaks , Gatekeepers and Small Coppers about but the highlight was a Wall Brown ....

Lee Mount and Hunter Hill

I thought once over that Large Skippers had finished for the year until this one turned up in the garden, firstly on Phlox then on the blue Lobelia this afternoon. Not always so obliging to stay still for a photo and showing the paler wing panels that help to distinguish this species from the Small Skipper!

Large Skipper

Also nearby were 2 Holly Blue's on Hebe and a Purple Hairstreak around the tops of the Oak tree.

Below, a Gatekeeper from the end of July that ended up resting on New Zealand Flax. It often helps with identification of some species to confirm from upper-wing and the under-wing.

Gatekeeper

Hunter Hill earlier today. A good mix of butterflies in that area including a small colony of Small Heaths (no photos, they wouldn't keep still for long enough) - preferring an area of  short turf and bare earth with a few dried out cow-pats !

Swales Moor

 A good day for butterfly's along the bridleway and around the top field late morning.

1 Painted Lady, 4 Small Copper, 8 Meadow Brown, 4 Small White, 3 Small Tortoiseshell, 2 Peacock, 1 Large White, 3 Gatekeepers, 3 Wall, 1 Small Skipper, 1 Green-veined White.

Wall

Small Copper

Painted Lady

Day-flying moths

Shaded Broad-bar x 5, Udea lutealis x 6, Agriphila tristella x 5...and quite a few more disturbed in the grass disappeared unidentified !

Udea lutealis

Hag Lane - 7th August

Track behind the ski-slope at Ploughcroft this afternoon. Didn't expect too much but it turned out well. Found a sheltered spot next to the track, out of the wind, with a bank of flowering heather to a background of big holly's.

At least 4 Holly Blue butterflies seen at the same time but they were on the heather and fluttering around the holly's so there could have been more. Impossible to get a decent photo unfortunately. A few blurred images ! Also at the same spot....

10+ Gatekeepers, 1 Speckled Wood, 1 Peacock, 6+ Meadow Brown, 2 Small Copper

Up the track just beyond this spot found 3 Walls, must be second generation this year.

Earlier in the day the moth trap produced two new ones for the year with a Lesser Swallow Prominent and a Six-striped Rustic.

Stainland.

 6th Aug. 2022.

2 x Blastobasis adustella

1 x Common Rustic - brown form

Lee Mount - Micros !!

Just starting on recent micros - don't know how far I will get with them................

Wondering about these two recently. First one looks good for Eudemis profundana. ?

This second one has the similar brown basal collar but the markings are much less obvious.

Also these ones below which look fairly straight-forward ........maybe !!

Epinotia ramella (2nd and 3rd Aug)

Stainland. 4th August 2022.

 The last catch-up.

1 x Blastobasis adustella

1 x Blastobasis lacticolella 

I'm posting the Blastobasis l. as it's by far the best photo of this species I've ever taken. It gives a clear view of it. (Some of the other shots over the years have been quite poor).

Blastobasis lacticolella

At last! I'm up to date. 

  

Stainland. From 1st August 2022.

 From 1st August 2022.

2 x Agriphila tristella TBC

1 x Anania coronata (A first for me. A lovely moth, pity I couldn’t get a better photo.)

1 x V Pug

I'm sorry about the terrible photos, I seem to be taking a lot of them just now. I really have get on top of this.

Anania coronata 

Not certain about the two below, could someone have a go at them please?

Agriphila tristella No.1 TBC

I'm completely stuck with the next one. It really did have the deeply coloured band,

Agriphila tristella No.2 TBC

Stainland. 31 July 2022.

Late post 31 July 2022

During the night it was cold and windy with an occasional light shower., not many moths)

2 x Blastobasis adustella (Decent shot, or I wouldn't bother posting it.)

Blastobasis adustella

Stainland. From 30 July 2022.

Late post from 30 July 2022

3 x Straw Dot

2 x Common Rustic agg. (From yesterday)

2 x Blastobasis lacticolella

1 x Blastobasis adustella

1 x Bird Cherry Ermine

1 x Willow Beauty (Resident for 4 days)

1 Riband Wave - ab. Remutata form

1 x V Pug

Straw Dot

Lee Mount - 3rd and 4th August

One here for checking that didn't look just right for Spectacle......

Maybe Dark Spectacle ?? (not had one previously)

Dark Spectacle confirmed

Stainland. From 29th July.

I'm having exiting time just now. My laptop started acting up. It took me two days to sort it out. Still, it's a lot cheaper than taking it in for repair.

From 29th July

Thanks to David for confirming Common Rustic, in the comments.

3 x Common Rustic (1 pale brown, other 2 Red-ish brown I'm not 100% certain of the IDs)

3 x Eudonia lacustrata

3 x Marbled Beauty

1 x Small Phoenix (possibly from day before)

4 x Blastobasis lacticolella

2 x Blastobasis adustella

Common Rustic agg.

Common Rustic agg.

I still have some more catching up to do....

Shibden Valley

 Holly Blue 1   (4 August: Small Copper 1)

Northern Marble Phiaris palustrana

 Just been confirmed as a first for VC 63 Northern Marble  Phiaris palustrana . Found high up on the moor at Middle Walshaw Dean...14th July 2022

Lower Brockholes

Female Gatekeeper (rather tatty)

Stainland. Catch up from 28 July..

 28th July

10 x Blastobasis lacticolella
  2 x Marbled Beauty
  2 x Small Phoenix
  1 x Willow Beauty
  1 x Riband Wave 
  1 x Common Footman
  1 x Eudonia lacticolella
  2 x Lozotaenia forsterana 

Lozotaenia forsterana 

Stainland. Another catch-up.

Since 25th July, 

I've had a lot of things on my hands. Having to dismantle 4 dining chairs, repair and rebuild them being the most trying, I'm not a great DIY person. I have spent countless hours pouring over moth books and the internet to hoping for IDs, and sometimes failing. It's very frustrating, I'd much rather have them all named before I post them. I get attacks of brain fog and uncontrollable yawning, Sigh. However. I have a few days of moth counts to post, starting with the 27th July.

27 July

3 x Willow Beauty

1 x July Highflier (First this year)

1 x Brimstone

1 x Blastobasis adustella

1 x Blastobasis lacticolella

1 x Currant Pug

1 x Marbled Beauty

Also, two moths that need an ID. I'm not proud of these to shots. They are the best I could do at the time..

I'm not confident about the first one but it's my best try..

Ypsolopha vittela TBC

It seems that every time I find a dark, black or dark grey moth, I have problems with them. They should be distinctive but...

ID Needed

More updates to follow.

 Another Chocolate Tip

Following Dave's excellent first record of Chocolate Tip in 2020 another turned up in Luddenden last night

other goodies the last 2 days were

Beautiful Hook-tip - 9th record this year

Engrailed

Scallop Shell - third record this year

also 3 Purple Thorn last night, my first ever multiple record also 39 Dingy Footmen so far this year